Jamie Buckingham

I never heard my father and mother argue. I now know they often disagreed. But they considered it bad breeding to argue in front of their children. It was an unreal world for a kid to grow up in. There was one time … I was about 10 years old. I woke in the middle

I was fresh out of seminary and the new pastor of a Baptist church in a little South Carolina town when Martin Luther King Jr. led his famous march from Montgomery to Selma, Ala. We did a lot of talking about racial segregation in our deacons’ meetings those days. Everyone was defensive. “We’re integrated,” one

The head of a large missionary organization told me that they are being sued by two of their members. These people had earlier dedicated their lives to missions. Now they have various ailments. One man has ulcers. A woman, who lived in the tropics, has skin cancer. A “Christian” lawyer, hearing of their problems, advised

Eleven years ago, my daddy died. It was Sunday noon. We had just come in from church and the phone was ringing. It was my mother in Vero Beach, Fla. “Daddy has just gone to be with the Lord.” As long as I can remember she had called him Daddy. The kids all called him

Last year, I almost quit playing racquetball. Almost, but not quite. I’m glad I didn’t. Racquetball is a high priority in my life. By that I mean I play three times a week and often carry my racquet, shoes and shorts when I go out of town. When I’m at home, I divide my playing

Note: Jamie Buckingham’s insight in this 1990 Charisma & Christian Life column still challenges believers to this day. We honor his memory today, as Feb. 17, 2017, marks the 25th anniversary of his death. We have four generations living in our home. Jackie’s mother, Daisy Law, is 82 years old. She has Parkinson’s disease. Some

Note: Jamie Buckingham was a prolific writer with a quick wit and a passion for sharing biblical truth. In honor of the 25th anniversary of his death, we offer you this timely 1989 Charisma column. One early morning in January, the lights in the Florida State Penitentiary flickered and dimmed as the executioner pulled a

Note: Today is the 25th anniversary of prolific writer Jamie Buckingham’s death, yet this column he wrote for Charisma in 1992 still speaks a powerful word for our culture. When Dan Rostenkowski, chairman of the House Ways and Means Committee, was asked by a reporter if any of his checks had bounced in the congres­sional bank, he

Note: Jamie Buckingham’s wit and wisdom from a 1979 column in Charisma still makes you think. We honor his memory today 25 years after his death. It seems I am to spend my life paddling upstream. While many of my Christian brothers are happily floating with the current, here I am, doggedly battling in the

Note: 25 years after prolific writer Jamie Buckingham passed away, this Charisma column from 1980 is still timely. Even my wife (especially my wife) knew I was going too fast. Like a speeding train, I whistled through grade crossings, roared over trestles only moments before they collapsed (thanking God I had made it just in

Note: This column from the late Jamie Buckingham first appeared in Charisma magazine in the 1980s. Charisma is featuring Jamie on this final day of its 40th anniversary celebration. Scars are not evidence of imperfection; they are evidence of healing. Your scars glorify God. In his book A Few Things I’ve Learned Since I Knew